traveling back recently from what my friends refer to as my “eat, pray, love” trip, the process of just getting home was slightly humorous. the rather indecisive individual that i am, i packed practically anything i might need while trekking to italy via a quick stop for business in the u.k. heaven forbid i be in italy and not have the perfect outfit and don’t even get me started on how many books i toted along. was i in the mood to read about bettering my business? or perhaps i might want to be more deep and read a philosophical novel. or just in case i wanted to stay with the theme of the trip, a travelogue might be necessary. case in point: overpacked? yes. so much so that my business colleague in the u.k. declared me “mad” to try and travel through italy with both of my big bags so i did my best to leave the non-essentials with him, which he would give to me on my trip back through london. good solution – except i had to get back from italy (post-shopping) with just my 1 very bloated bag.

after posing a challenge to my family’s little fiat to just get me to the airport, we squeezed and pushed my bag to get it in the “trunk” (if you can call that little wee thing a trunk!). then we pulled and tugged to get it back out again. just a few kilos over the limit in florence, i sadly had to leave a bottle of wine with the gate agent to bribe her to let me on. back to the u.k., trudging through the airport with my 2 over-stuffed bags. maneuvering corners, balancing bag-on-bag, and wishing i’d splurged to get the new-fangled 4-wheeled suitcase that turns on a dime.

me + my uncle alfredo in the balsamic basement

aside from buying a few gifts for friends and family, okay maybe a lot of gifts for my yet-to-be-born nephew, i didn’t really shop. the baggage overload culprits were a liter of homemade 30-year-aged acetto balsamico that my uncle makes in his basement, a kilo block of parmeseano he gifted me, and a bottle of brunello di montepulciano.

yes, i was a traveling wine bar.

and that wasn’t all i brought home. yes, i managed to bring home a couple kilos on my backside as well. don’t get me wrong, i worked hard for them. every single gelato, glass of vino, bowl of pasta, and full-fat cappuccino were feats i had to conquer to claim those kilos as mine. and they were so worth it!

and now, i’m home. all i have left of italy are my memories, accetto balsamico & parmeseano, my improved spengtalian (that’s spanish-english-italian), and my hard-earned kilos. and as much as i love to hold onto things, i’m gonna have to let go of the last one. it’s not easy. no, in fact its downright hard. regardless of the joy in gaining them, somehow the flavor of the sweet gelato didn’t last long enough to justify what i know i have to do to rid my backside of the extra little jiggle. i’m running last night and i think to myself, “wow, i don’t believe i’ve felt things shake like that in quite some time!”. ah, all in good time, it will come off. and every time i get frustrated with myself, i remind myself that i’m human. that i have to practice what i preach. that just like i tweet on twitter: “you are not a number on the scale!”, i must first believe it and live it. (note: i actually don’t weigh often and actually have no clue how many kilos i earned – i go by how i feel, and well my jeans tell me too.)

3 weeks til the end of october and just 11 weeks til 2013. i’m dialed in and doing my best. traveling for 6 out of the next 8 weeks is throwing a bit of a wrench in my routine, but it’s no excuse. in kentucky for the next 5 days, after spending 2 in miami, i proudly packed my pumpkin protein muffins, veggies and hummus, lara bars, and pre-portioned packs of protein powder. workouts are challenging when you combine changing time zones, working around others’ schedules, and putting in long workdays too. but somehow it motivates me to achieve this even more. i’m the kind of person that if you say “you can’t do that”, i’ll show you i can. so my goal is to fit in my 5 workouts a week and eat as clean as possible while traveling through the end of october in my trek to get sPoOkyFIT. then when i am at home, i’ll dial it in like a madwoman so i can greet 2013 sans the souvenirs.

now, off to go explore kentucky on foot for a jog through the city. i’m wondering if it can be any more entertaining than my friday night happy hour run through miami last night!